Heap clouds : Cumulus, altocumulus, and cirrocumulus. © Philip Goddard / Flickr 4 of 4Cirrostratus clouds. © Petr Hykš / Flickr 3 of 4Altostratus undulatus. © Andreas Christen / Flickr 2 of 4Altostratus radius (note the two cumulus clouds in the foreground). They’re also whiter than the other layer clouds and can produce sun halos.ġ of 4Stratus clouds. Think of hazy, veil-like clouds found high in the sky.
Cirrostratus clouds are thinner, transparent, and found at high altitudes. These clouds are uniform and featureless, and can sometimes produce rain. Altostratus clouds are mid-level, gray, blanket-like clouds. (Fog is just a ground-level stratus cloud.) Think of the last gray, overcast day when it didn’t rain… those were probably stratus clouds. Stratus clouds are nondescript, thick, blanket-like clouds that form low in the sky. Each one can be found at a different altitude. All three of these clouds form blanket-like layers in the sky. Layer Clouds : Stratus, altostratus, and cirrostratus. I’ve found the shape method easiest, so we’ll use that here. There are two ways to group clouds, either by altitude (low, medium, or high) or by shape (layer, heap, layer-heap, rain, wispy). Now that we have the Latin lesson out of the way, let’s explore the 10 cloud genera. A cloud-filled valley (stratus clouds) seen from the Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. 
Alto translates to “high.” Confusingly, this doesn’t mean the clouds in the highest part of the atmosphere, just that the cloud is higher relative to others of its type.Ĭonfused? Stay with me. Cirro translates to “curl.” These clouds are sometimes (but not always) curled and are found in the highest layer of the troposphere. Nimbo translates to “rain,” and is used for the two clouds that regularly produce rain. Strato translates to “layered.” Clouds with strato in their name are often flat and form a wide layer across the sky. Cumulo translates to “heaped.” Think puffy, piled, marshmellowy clouds. Learning what each of these Latin roots means is key to keeping your clouds straight: The genera names are all formed from the same five latin terms - cirro, cumulo, strato, nimbo, alto - which are mixed and matched to create names like cumulonimbus, cirrostratus, cirrocumuus…. © David Abercrombie / Flickr But First, A Latin LessonĬlouds are grouped into 10 different genera, organized based on shape and the altitude where they’re found. So if you’re like me and curious about clouds - or just short on ways to entertain yourself - here’s some basic information, resources, and tips to get you started. #COLORFUL WAVE SURFERS PUFFY HOW TO#
I’ve also spent a lot of time staring out of the window, so I figured it was finally time to learn how to identify clouds, a hobby known as cloudspotting. After 6 months I’ve started a birding yard list, planted a garden, reorganized every closet in the house, and irritated my neighbors with my suburban spotlighting misadventures. I could remember “cumulonimbus,” from my 4th-grade science class, and that’s about it. With birds to see, butterflies to identify, and mammals to spotlight, I just never quite got around to honing my cloud identification skills. It’s a question that I’ve wondered many times over the years, but somehow I always failed to follow up on finding the answer.
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